It is now an accepted statement by all and sundry that 2017 was the year of agitations and protests in Nagaland. In all the cases ,if observed properly, the reason behind were the decisions of the government especially the elected representatives lacking foresight with grave miscalculations about the general tenor of the citizens . In some cases it was laced with severe arrogance by the legislators leading to the public outrage and violence. All fingers continue to point at the sixty-odd lawmakers of the Nagaland Legislative Assembly for the fracas that the previous year was and chaos that the assembly tenure was.
However, eventually it is the public who elected them to be members of the August House. It is the electorates who gave them their opportunity to be the lawmakers of the state. As stated often in this space it might have been the worst case scenario of the Nagaland Legislative Assembly in its history. It probably reached its nadir in the last year of the current tenure. Regardless, the public also have to share the blame to some extent and need to open their eyes ultimately.
The Nagaland public should look beyond the decision making powers of the legislators with their assigned portfolios. The public should look beyond the excessive use of powers that make the legislators unofficial chief executives even when it is not required. The consequences becomes costly because ultimately the legislators are the lawmakers. They make laws for the people to follow; it is as simple as it can get. The reason why they are referred to as lawmakers in the first place. They are the ones who will decide what laws are appropriate to be enacted in the state. In case of Nagaland the legislators are the ones who have been given special provisions by the constitution of the country. They have the powers to decide if any law passed by the Parliament that affects or pertains to customs and traditions of the people can be extended to Nagaland.
Nevertheless, in every election the public ignores all these very crucial details. Human bias comes into play and the crucial selection of who would be best to be empowered with such powers is thrown out of the window before entering the booth. The public needs to get rid of the excessive hero-worship of the legislators, in fact for any leader in the state. The public should start to blow less of one’s own trumpet. One’s own extends to one’s own family, clan, khel, vilage, range/area, village, tribe and region in the Naga context. All in all the Nagas need to get rid of the very primitive way of posturing oneself- the ‘mine if bigger than yours’ mentality at least with communities within the state. Only then clarity will be found by the people to elect the right kind of persons.
